


Humans

by hazeltea (madlovescience)



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-03-20
Updated: 2010-03-20
Packaged: 2017-10-08 04:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madlovescience/pseuds/hazeltea
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>100% fluff. I took an angst holiday.<br/>Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, and I do not profit from this. I just do this to amuse myself.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Humans

**Author's Note:**

> 100% fluff. I took an angst holiday.  
> Disclaimer: I don't own Red Dwarf, and I do not profit from this. I just do this to amuse myself.

Rimmer, Lister reminded himself, is a selfish, vindictive, cynical, cowardly weasel of a man. To his distress, the thought had no emotion to it. He might as well have been reading a repair manual, for all the feeling the words stirred. They had no effect on him, not when Rimmer was gazing at him just so, soft hazel eyes like patches of green on the dark, moist earth in springtime, like it used to be back home, and how he wished they were home, sprawled out on that tender sort of new green grass when the weather just starts turning warm, instead of curled tightly into a dark, cramped metal bunk light years away. Rimmer was all he had of Earth. Although born on Io, although he was a hologram, he was first and foremost human in Lister's eyes, his only thread to the past, the only one who truly, fully understood what it meant to be human left in the universe. Cat was good company and a close friend, but decidedly not human. Kryten might know more than he could hope to learn in a lifetime, yet there were so many things that Lister had to explain that he simply knew by instinct, things that he'd begun to think were part and parcel of a collective human consciousness, woven into his DNA, and of every human who had ever lived, and died.

_I must be going mad. Space crazy. Arnold Judas Rimmer is in my bunk, starkers, and I invited him in._

A human shouldn't lust for something made of silicon, metal, and light over another human, should they? Lister could still hear the sting and defensiveness in Rimmer's voice as he raised that very question, not so long ago. His arms had been crossed, his body tense and taut as a bowstring. No matter what Lister had to say about the matter, he knew that if he failed to say it in the right way, Rimmer would push him away. Too much was at stake, far too much to trust to words, and so, Lister had kissed him, smothering Rimmer's feeble, timid protests with affection, telling himself that he would find the convincing words that Rimmer so desperately needed to hear when they were both sure of exactly what they wanted. The other had eventually stilled in his arms and leaned into the kiss, the desperation of a lifetime alone outweighing his embarrassment and shame.

To be honest, he wasn't altogether sure what he wanted from Rimmer, but he knew that it began with wanting the feel of a body against him, the comfort of once again having someone to curl up with and talk to in the dark of night. They had always talked, but Legion had made so much more possible, and Lister was a starved man. Every night, Lister pressed further, seeing how far Rimmer would allow him to go, until the hologram became bold enough to share his bunk. Once his initial hesitation and doubt had settled, Rimmer had adjusted to their new relationship with an eagerness that surprised Lister. During the day, it seemed as though little had changed. Tempers flared, casual insults were thrown, but when the door closed at night, Rimmer would fix his eyes on him, and approach him with the determination of a predator.

And so, the two last humans, one living, one dead, had begun to build a life together, by not asking the uncomfortable questions that would need asking if there were others of their kind to explain to. They found it was best to not discuss such a volatile thing, even amongst themselves, or so Lister had thought. Now and then, Rimmer would steer the conversation tentatively towards what had developed between them. Swallowing encroaching panic, Lister would attempt to distract and subdue him with kisses, caresses, a nip or nuzzle in a strategic place that would make Rimmer shiver in want and quickly lose his voice.

Tonight was no different.

Lister lay still, meeting his lover's gaze, considering the evaded questions. Rimmer was his by right, after all. Holly wouldn't have chosen him to keep him sane if this wasn't right, would he? His hologram. Considering it, the thought made his chest swell with a sort of protective pride. He ran his fingers through the other man's tousled curls and grinned, leaning close for a kiss, savoring the slight electric current between their lips. There was nothing so amazing as making love to a hologram, a body so human and yet charged with a pulsating energy that set his nerves on fire. There was nothing quite like a lover who approached sex as a study, considering, and possibly, for all he knew, researching techniques in private before shyly applying that oddly real static tongue in all sorts of places… perhaps Rimmer wasn't quite as selfish as he'd assumed. Maybe he was the selfish one, keeping this unguarded side of Rimmer to himself. Perhaps he was being more selfish than he'd realized, in more ways than one.

Lister laced his fingers into Rimmer's and rested his head under his chin. "Arn… we should talk. About us." A smile crept to his lips as he felt the acceleration of the light bee's motor at his words.


End file.
